Ephedra

[Guest guest]

I followed the Suffolk NY experience pretty

closely, but found out about Illinois just a couple

days ago. I forwarded a copy of my February

press release about Ephedra, which was sent out

to many major media, and which got me to talking

to ESPN magazine and Glamour magazine, but

that's it.

 

Sending out press releases is the quickest way I've

found for myself to make some impact on the larger

world.

 

I'm sending a copy of this to Jackie Speier...

it's located at

http://pulsemed.org/ephedradanger.htm

 

I did a follow up on non-ephedra supplements

as well. All our press releases are here:

http://pulsemed.org/pressreleases.htm

 

B

 

NEWS RELEASE

FOR RELEASE:

February 26, 2003

CONTACT:

Brian Carter

The Pulse of Oriental Medicine

http://www.pulsemed.org

619-208-1432

bbcarter

Ephedra Dangers Taught in Traditional Herbal Training

The Chinese medicine herb, ephedra (ma huang), has been misused by the

supplement industry and misunderstood by both the press and biomedical

community. The February 17th death of Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler brought

national attention to both the risks of inappropriate ephedra usage and the

dangers of an under-regulated supplement industry.

 

The use of ephedra for energy, athletic performance, or weight loss is not

traditional. employs ephedra for asthma, coughing,

wheezing, and the common cold. Ephedra played an essential part in the first

systematic chinese herbal text, " On Cold Damage, " written around 200 A.D. by

Zhang Zhong-Jing.

 

Ephedra's dangers are well-documented in the traditional Chinese medical

literature. According to Dan Bensky's " Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia

Medica, " a standard academic textbook, ephedra may raise blood pressure or

cause restlessness and tremors.

 

Like most Chinese herbs, ephedra is always prescribed within an herbal

formula. The combination of herbs typical to chinese medicine allows gentler

herbs to moderate harsher ones. Even so, Bensky's " Formulas & Strategies, "

says that the classic formula, " Ephedra Decoction " is contraindicated for

weak patients with copious urination, patients prone to bleeding, and should

be used with caution in cases of high blood pressure. These texts are

studied by all chinese herbal students. The herbal combinations marketed by

supplement companies are not traditional formulas.

 

Herbalists trained and licensed to prescribe chinese herbs such as ephedra

usually attend 3-4 years of Traditional Chinese medicine college, graduate

with a Masters degree, and pass minimum competency exams for licensing.

Profiles of colleges that teach Chinese medicine are available from the

Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine

(http://www.ccaom.org/ or 301-313-0868).

 

Licensure that ensures competency in chinese herbs is regulated nationally

by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental

Medicine (http://www.nccaom.org/ or 703-548-9004).

 

Each state has its own laws regarding the prescription of herbs. Some

individual states have their own competency tests with even higher

standards. For example, in California, both herbal and acupuncture

competency are tested before an acupuncture license is awarded. See the

California Acupuncture Board at http://www.acupuncture.ca.gov/index.html or

916-263-2680.

 

###

 

 

 

 

 

Brian Benjamin Carter, M.Sci., L.Ac.

http://www.pulsemed.org/briancarterbio.htm

Acupuncturist & Herbalist

Editor, The Pulse of Oriental Medicine

Columnist, Acupuncture Today

(619) 208-1432 San Diego

(866) 206-9069 x 5284 Tollfree Voicemail

 

The PULSE of Oriental Medicine

http://www.pulsemed.org/

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Medicine since 1999... 9 Experts,

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